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Which direction is NC headed?

Our elected leaders come together every year to make public policy. We believe that public policy holds the potential for expanding access to opportunity and building a strong foundation for economic growth. We believe that our elected leaders have a particular duty to serve the common good and that means addressing inequities and exclusion of poor and low-income families and communities from the pathways to greater economic security.

This year, we are assessing the direction that policymakers are taking—and that North Carolina is headed in—with key policy proposals. We have listed many of the key bills, but this is not an exhaustive list. It highlights major legislation that has the potential to move North Carolina in the wrong direction or help us get ahead.

Click on the "Bill Number" to go to the Bill page on the General Assembly web site, where you can see the history of the legislation, its current status, floor votes, and text of the legislation. Click on ACTION ALERT under the bill number to take action by contacting your legislators.

The table below lists only bills currently active in the state legislature.

Requires suspicion-less drug testing of all applicants and recipients of Work First Benefits. Could cost counties million of dollars. Studies show recipients of public assistance are less likely to use drugs than the rest of the population. Repeals the current law aimed at detecting people in need of substance and alcohol abuse treatment. Similar Florida law was struck down as unconstitutional by unanimous decision of Federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Enforces a 5 year waiting period after a person convicted of a felony has served their sentence before they can get their voting rights back. Getting their voting rights back must be approved unanimously the county board of elections. Requires strict government issued photo ID to vote and financial hardship oath to obtain free identification. Cuts a full week from the early voting period and ends Sunday voting.

Prohibits the child dependency tax deduction ($2,500) for parents if their child registers to vote in the town or city where they attend school instead of their parents’ address. Allows poll observers to move about more freely in the polling place.

No Health Benefits Exchange or Medicaid Expansion. Rejects Medicaid expansion possible from the Affordable Care Act, meaning 500,000 North Carolinians will not have health care coverage – even though the first three years of coverage would have been paid for completely by the federal government and 90 percent thereafter. North Carolina will not have its own state health benefits exchange to purchase insurance – instead having an exchange set up by the federal government. Signed into law.

Allows law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of anyone they stop and detain them for up to 24 hours.

Makes it harder for undocumented immigrants to post bail. Requires anyone who is undocumented and arrested to pay the cost of their detention, and would allow law enforcement to impound and seize the vehicles of any drivers without (or with expired) insurance or licenses.

Includes a ban on matricula consular IDs issued by the Mexican government as an acceptable form of ID. Forces undocumented immigrants to register and obtain an annual restricted driver’s permit or restricted ID that will have a vertical design and include the driver’s thumbprint, which is also a "bull's-eye" license signifying that the person is undocumented. These driving permits or state IDs will not be available to all.

Aside from passing a driving test and having insurance, the legislation establishes additional criteria to qualify for a permit that will be difficult for many immigrants—including farmworkers and seasonal workers—to meet:

Creates a taxpayer financed Charter School Board independent of the State Board of Education, and loosens charter school requirements by drastically lowering teacher certification requirements in charter schools.

Creates a task force for educator effectiveness and compensation. Teacher could obtain career status. Teachers with career status who receive a poor rating will lose status, but it could be regained. Modifies statutes on school performance grades.

Legislation has provisions that take North Carolina in the right direction and the wrong direction.

Provides parents who home school their children a tax credit valued at $2,500 per year without any accountability to taxpayers. Impact is a reduction of $97 million in the first year up to $200 million in fiscal year 2017-18.

Shifts the tax load slightly to bottom 80% of taxpayers. Reduces personal, corporate and sales tax rates and adopts a flat income tax rate of 6%. Closes corporate loopholes and breaks and expands the base of the sales tax to services as well as limits the value of itemized deductions for higher wealth taxpayers. Does not include the EITC.

Reduces State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – Brings the value of the state EITC to a lower percent of the federal credit. Sunset of State EITC likely at the end of 2013. Impacts 907,000 low-income families who work and pay taxes.

The bill would allow payday lenders back into NC. Payday loans are short term loans, lasting only until the borrower next gets paid and requires the borrower to give the lender access to the borrower’s bank account on payday, ensuring that the lender will be repaid. The annual percentage rates on these loans will be 392%.

Allows car title lending in NC, authorizes lenders to make loans to borrowers that own their cars outright. The loans are secured by the borrower’s vehicle. The borrower gives the title of the vehicle to the lender, along with a copy of the keys to the vehicle. The loan period is a maximum of 30 days. If, at the end of the 30 day loan period, the borrower doesn’t repay the entire loan amount plus interest, the lender can simply take the borrower’s car. The interest on these loans is at an annual percentage rate of approximately 300%.

(1) Reconstitutes the State Personnel Commission and moves the agency from the Department of Administration to the Governor’s office, reduces training and reporting demands, but expands authority,

(2) Adds 500 additional positions that the governor may designate as exempt from the newly named NC Human Resources Act and adds the offices of State Personnel, Budget and Management and Information and Technology services where they may also be designated,

(3) Changes what and how a state employee might grieve, narrowing the field of grievances and increasing the burden on the appellant employee in the process.

Calls for a constitutional provision for “Right-to-Work” requirement and no collective bargaining for public employees, which is already NC law. Requires a secret ballot for union elections and voids any agreements between unions and local governments.

Makes drastic cuts to NC’s Unemployment Insurance program in benefits, eligibility and period of receipt. Loss of federal emergency benefits program from July – December 2013. 170,000 laid off workers affected. Loss of estimated at $500 million in 100% paid for federal benefits. Signed into law.